Sounds about right!

[sir.prize]

So working people receiving low incomes will get larger tax allowances.

So retired people receiving low incomes will not get larger tax allowances.

Thank you Mr Osborne.

[DTCwordfan]

??? what garbage - anybody (underlined) earning up to £9100 income will be tax free.

Pensions up £5 as well....(ok could have been higher).

[Old_Geezer]

Cut of the 50% rate for the rich.
Personal income tax allowance raised for the poor.
Everyone else to make up the difference.

Can't recall a budget that I've liked, some have reached the dizzy heights of "so so".

[DTCwordfan]

too simplistic OG.....

closure of tax avoidance loops etc increases the tax revenue from the wealthy - yes a reward for those who play straight but those who dont get penalised. Everbody up to a 100k benefits from the lower rate.

Corpration tax cut - will be interesting to see if it helps fuel Britain and hence the corp tax rate - big benefit for small businesses though as well as youngsters start up - and I like the centres of excellence for premium industries like aeronautics.

The child benefit is much fairer now with the taper (they should have thought of that before though), otherwise its all pretty neutral - except for the smokers......I was surprised there was nothing really on the min price for booze, though GO reserved measures on that and also that fuel excise duty wasn't cut....at best some freezing.

[sir.prize]

DTcrosswordfan: Are you suggesting I misunderstood? Am I missing something?

Personal allowances frozen for pensioners

George Osborne: ''Every WORKING (Working) person on low or middle incomes will benefit. People will be able to earn up to £9205 before they have to pay any tax."

'A tax rise for pensioners'
by Tom Bradby - Political Editor

If you take into account inflation, it is a tax rise for pensioners. Very unpopular, I would have thought. But raises him £1billion.

[DTCwordfan]

what personal allowances are you talking about, yes I agree re winter fuel allowances etc, assisted allowance and all the other slew of personal benefits accruing etc but it is not on income tax.....so if you are on pension plus a little income, some savings interests etc, then you are better off with the rising bottom limit.

[sunny-dave]

Worse than frozen - if you are born after 1948 - no additional age allowance at all ... ever.

That's an extra tax of £493 per year for anyone with a pension of £24,000 or less.

[bibblebub]

in case you don't know, DTcrosswordfan, there are separate personal allowances for people 65yo+ http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/it.htm

[sir.prize]

DT - I'll try to explain (how I see it).

Does the rising lower limit apply to pensioners? Because G Osborne said: ''Every WORKING (Working) person on low or middle incomes will benefit. People will be able to earn up to £9205 before they have to pay any tax."

[DTCwordfan]

but then as they get to just above 10k the two are aligned.....

[Old_Geezer]

Well, in fairness, any short description will be simplistic. But raising the level is more for those taken out of the tax bracket than for those who see a small reduction. And tax avoidance measures, as you point out, merely get folk to "play fair" which morally one can argue they should anyway.

Ultimately it will be those who benefit least that, one way or the other, end up paying more into the coffers.

Child benefit is a missed opportunity. It is being reduced based on one parent's income not the joint family one. And in any case I'd rather just see it removed for second and further children. We need no incentive to have more offspring.

[sunny-dave]

DT - yes they are aligned - which, any way you cut it, means that pensioners have lost out relatively speaking - a previous tax advantage has been removed.

[sir.prize]

Therefore there's a higher allowance for working people on low incomes. But not for pensioners on low incomes.

[DTCwordfan]

From what Danny Alexander has just said, yes it does apply.....the 9200 is for all....

[AB Editor]

http://cdn.hm-treasur...dget2012_complete.pdf

Executive summary:

http://cdn.hm-treasur...executive_summary.pdf

[DTCwordfan]

the stinger is in the middle income group the 40% trigger level is to be lowered "significantly"

yes there is a small spread between the exisiting pension allowances for the new pensioner but will close when they bring in 10k which I guess is targeted for 2013 but not guaranteed....

One that has come in I notice is that you can earn £5200 a year now outside carer alllowances, so that is a big improvement.

[sunny-dave]

As is often the case, the government is hiding the pain for pensioners further down the line - anyone born after 1948 will get no additional 'age allowance' when they are 65 and current pensioners will see their additional allowance withering away.

Whether it is fair that pensioners will then be treated on exactly the same basis as 'workers' is another argument ...

[DTCwordfan]

But you get the higher income tax allowances as they roll through............

[craft1948]

So will I be okay then?

[Nibble]

Sounds like the nearly retired should be leaving a note to their children, as per the last government, here we go...

'Sorry We Have Spent All The Money'

[Gromit]

A £3billion raid on Pensions. So no different from Nooo Labour then.